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Title

Men’s Winter Retreat

Smritiratna

Smritiratna first took up Buddhist practice in 1977 at the age of 21 while studying Developmental Psychology at Sussex University. At 27, he began training in earnest with the FWBO and entered the Western Buddhist Order in 1991.

In 1996, he came to Scotland, joined the Dhanakosa project and spent five years on-site, teaching and house-keeping. In 2001, he gave up house-keeping to concentrate on study, contemplation and teaching. He now calls Edinburgh home and spends some of his time in a forest hut near Dhanakosa and three months a year on retreat at Guhyaloka in the Spanish mountains. He still leads Dhanakosa retreats and continues to delight in introducing meditation to newcomers.

Regulars - Meditation

Suitable for people who have been on retreat before and have a regular meditation practice. These retreats will be conducted mostly in silence, and will normally have between 5 and 7 hours a day of sitting meditation.

We begin this retreat just after the Winter Solstice, the darkest time of the year. Folk have been marking this special time since the deep past. For us, the coming of the light signifies faith in awareness prevailing over ignorance, humanity prevailing over inhumanity. This retreat is an opportunity to gather and affirm that faith through ritual, shared communication and especially silent meditation.

These are meditation retreats and will be conducted mostly in silence. They will normally have between 5 and 7 hours a day of sitting meditation.

Paying for your retreat

Dhanakosa runs on donations.

To book a retreat you pay a booking fee. This is the only fee we ask you to pay. Your retreat has been paid for from the donations of all the people who have been to Dhanakosa before you, in the spirit of generosity, or dana.

Suggested donations

The donations we collect from you on your retreat guarantee future retreats.

Our suggested donations (in addition to the booking fee) for 2018:

Week retreats: £430 waged, £275 unwaged

2 week retreats: £650 waged, £440 unwaged

Weekend retreats : £180 waged, £130 unwaged

Booking fees for 2019:

£50 for weekend retreats

£75 for week long retreats

£100 for 11 day retreat

Our suggested donations (in addition to the booking fee) for 2019:

Week retreats: £445 waged, £285 unwaged

11 days retreat: £650 waged, £440 unwaged

Weekend retreats: £165 waged, £115 unwaged

Those who cannot afford our suggested donations are free to contribute what they can. All donations are gratefully received. See our dana economy page for more information.

There will be an opportunity to make your donation during the retreat. Donations can be made by credit/debit card, cheque or cash.